A Rip In The Cloak
by genericfemme
Summary: Draco Malfoy has gotten himself an invisibility cloak. Nobody would be able to expect what he decides to use it for.
1. Intro

Being the rich Malfoy that he was, Draco had gotten his hands on an invisibility cloak. It wasn't nearly as special or high quality as Harry's, but it was still an incredible item to own. When he bought it from Borgin at Borgin and Burkes down in Knockturn Alley, he had received a great list of ideas for how he'd use the cloak. Of course, being a Malfoy, Borgin's jabber didn't mean much and Draco began to create his own list of ideas.

He started out rather innocently (for one with an invisibility cloak) with ideas of sneaking around Hogwarts or playing pranks on Crabbe and Goyle, but on his way into Diagon Alley from Knockturn Alley he saw a flash of fiery, red locks fly by. His pulse quickened and he turned, hoping to see Ginny Weasley, his latest, though forbidden, object of affection. Sadly, the hair belonged to a different witch and not she.

This sighting wasn't completely to waste, though. It led his mind to indulge in a new array of sneaky ideas. He decided that his goal this next year at Hogwarts would be to win over Ginny from Potter or Dean or whoever the hell she's with (that girl is all over the place) and he'd use the cloak to do it.  
It was time that the spoiled Draco Malfoy gained what he truly wanted.


	2. Looking for Red

It was weeks of waiting before his plan of winning over a certain ginger beauty would begin, but every waking moment until he got onto the Hogwarts express was spent thinking about her.

Ever night he'd stay awake and imagine her next to him. Every morning he'd be upset to find his bed empty. He felt like a bloody teenage girl, but didn't really worry too much about it.

Eventually, it was time to prepare for the train and his parents drove him to King's Cross. They gave him speeches about not mixing with the wrong types and making good grades and not embarrassing the Malfoy name, but his head was off in Ginnyland. The Weasleys had just arrived at the landing next to the train and, while his parents shot glares their direction, he cherished the sight of the youngest Weasley yelling at her brothers Fred and George.

It was almost time to step into action.

Draco made his way onto the Hogwarts Express. He kept his eye out for the Weasley girl, but still stuck close to his friend Blaise. They found a compartment and sat down when he heard the mudblood Granger walking past.

"But Ronald, you don't need to waste your money on candy when you could use it on books for next year!"

"Bugger off, 'Mione. It's my money. I got it from Fred and George. They have been practically overflowing in gold since they opened up shop."

"Whatever you say, Ron. Don't come complaining to me, though, when you don't have enough to buy a butterbeer."

Draco listens to the exchange as they pass and notices a ginger girl a bit shorter than them following behind. He excuses himself from Blaise and follows the Pack of Gryffindors. Ginny drops something as she passes and quickly turns around to get it, practically running into a certain blonde male.

Draco leans down to grab what she's dropped and hands it to her, ignoring the confused look on the poor girl's face, "Such a klutz. What more can we expect from a Weasley?"

"Shut up, Malfoy. You very we'll know I could hex you right off this train."

"Perhaps, Weaslette. But would you?" He flashes the infamous Malfoy smirk and turns around to walk back to his compartment. He chuckles to himself when he hears the redhead mutter, "Ferret." Under her breath.


	3. The Scrimmage

It was a few weeks after school started when Draco really saw Ginny again. Of course, he'd run into her in the halls and see her while eating meals, but he never talked to her. And, honestly, this may have been a good thing. Draco had a reputation to keep of hating mudbloods and blood traitors and if he was found being nice to one, people would questions. Which means that if he runs into Ginny he'd have to act normally.

Draco's trying to win her over. He doubts that acting normally would help much.

So, the next time they really cross paths is on the Quidditch Pitch. Hooch has been in the infirmary because of an incident with an especially aggrivated bludger and the Slytherin team hasn't been able to officially schedule a practice. They ended up just deciding to go out to practice and hope for the best. Sadly, there was an infestation of Gryffindors.

"Potter, this is our field now," yells a pissed off Marcus Flint. Harry flies down, followed by Ginny and her brother Ron.

"We were already practicing, Flint. You can come back tomorrow!" Ron yells, but Harry interrupts.

"No, they can practice, too. How about we do a scrimmage?" Harry suggests.

Flint looks around at his team and back to Harry. "Fine," he replies, "But don't cry when we win."

The teams set up and lift into the air. It's the first practice of the year for both teams and each do fairly well.

After a while Ginny yells, "Harry! Can I take a turn at seeker?" Harry nods and they switch places. After a few more minutes Ginny spots a golden gleam against the blue sky. She quickly raises the front of her broom and chases after it. Draco spots her and quickly follows, realizing that she's spotted the snitch. Draco catches up and side by side they race for the snitch.

"Hello there, Weaslette."

"Shut up, Malfoy. You can't distract me."

"Hmm, alright then." They continue flying towards it and Draco reaches out to grab it. Ginny realizes and reaches around him. Draco considers pushing her out of the way and knows that if he just leans forward a little more he could get it.

He decides to move back.

Ginny grabs the snitch and raises it high, "I've got it!"

The gryffindor team roars out with woops and hollers. They go back down to the ground and Harry yells, "Nice game, Flint."  
"Yeah, whatever, Potter."

The teams begin to depart and Ginny makes her way to Draco, "Don't think that I didn't realize what you did."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Weasley."

"You backed up. Let me win-"

Draco interrupts, "Weasley, when would I ever give up a chance for glory?"

Ginny is silent for a second and then says, "I'm not sure, but you did. I intend to find out why."

"Good luck, then." Draco walks faster in order to catch up with his team. Ginny continues out the pace she's out, thouroughly confuzed.

"Ginny!" Harry yells as he and Ron run over, "You did great out there, Gin."

"Oh, thanks." She smiles, but is still distracted with thoughts about Draco. Why would he let her get the snitch? He's a stupid prick that would do anything to get what he wants, so why wouldn't he then? "Have you guys noticed anything odd about Malfoy recently?"

"No, not really. He's a git like always," Ron shrugs, before opening the doors to go inside, "Why, Gin? Has he done something? Do we need to hex him for you?"

"No, no. It's fine," she looks at their concerned faces, "Really, Ronald. Nothing's happened. I'm fine."

"If you say so. Just remember, if he ever does-" Ron begins and is interrupted.

"You'll blast his nose right off," Ginny finishes for him. "Let's hope he doesn't. We don't need a second Slytherin idiot without a nose to deal with."

Harry laughs and they walk to the Great Hall to eat their final meal for the day. A few tables over, at the Slytherin table, sits Draco with his friends or, as he thinks of it, people he decides to let talk to him. Pansy Parkinson, the female equivalent of Draco, is sitting as close to him as humanly possible, rambling on about how her day went and who she's pissed off at. Meanwhile, Crabbe and Goyle take turns stealing food off each other's plates while Blaise Zabini picks at the food on his own plate.

"Pansy, dear, you're practically on top of me. How am I supposed to eat?"

Pansy backs off, but continues to talk into his ear. She doesn't realize that he's not paying attention and actually looking over at a certain redhead.


	4. The End of the Beginning

At the Gryffindor table, Ginny, Harry, and Ron sit down next to Hermione and Neville. "Harry! Ron! Ginny! How was practice?" Hermione glances up from her food and smiles. Even though the curly-haired witch wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch she still enjoyed listening to how her friends were doing.

"It was fine in the beginning, but eventually there was a snake infestation," Ron glares over at the Slytherin table.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What happened?" Hermione asks.

"It wasn't that bad. We decided to play against each other. Gin caught us the snitch! It was great! She and Malfoy were neck and neck and she just happened to be that much faster!" Harry excitedly explains the events of the evening, "Isn't that right, Ginny?"

Ginny looks up from an apple she was awkwardly stabbing with a fork, "What?"

"Harry says you caught the snitch!" Hermione exclaims.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I caught it." Ginny offers a smile and puts her fork down, deciding the apple didn't really deserve any more abuse. It's not the apple's fault Draco was acting up. She picks it up and bites into it, glancing over at Draco. There eyes meet and he quickly looks down at his full plate, realizing that he should probably start eating before people ask questions. Confusion flashes across Ginny's face, but she quickly shakes it off.

"Oh, Gin, why do you sound so bored? You caught it! This means that you guys should have no trouble beating the Slytherins this year!"

"It's nothing. You're right. This is really exciting news," she smiles at Hermione and ignores the concerned look her brother keeps giving her, "I've got to go. I have stuff to do." She stands up and rushes out of the room. It wasn't a complete lie, she should change out of her Quidditch robes and she still had some things she needed to unpack. It upset her that Draco was making her feel so unsettled, though. He had never been this much of a problem before, no matter how annoying had been in the past.

"Something's wrong with her," Ron says, after she leaves. He picks up a chicken leg and preceeds to bite into it.

"She seemed a bit off. Maybe she's just getting used to being back," Hermione suggests. Ron shrugs and continues eating. Harry begins to talk about the classes they are taking this year with Hermione.

Meanwhile, Draco is watching Ginny leave. He quickly finishes up his food and stands to leave. Pansy stops in the middle of her story and turns to him, "Draco?"

"I'm not feeling well. I think the stupid house elves poisoned the food. Dumbledore should know better. He's becoming a daft old man," Draco begins walking towards the door and Pansy turns to start rambling to Blaise. Blaise rolls his eyes and "accidentally" drops the food he's eating on her lap. A high pitched squeal arrises from the Slytherin table and Crabbe and Goyle stop snabbing each other's food and watch Pansy rushes off to the loo.

Blaise laughs, "That's one problem solved."

~

Ginny reaches the Gryffindor dorms and says the password, "Baubles", and walks into the common room. She runs up the stairs to get to her room and changes out of her Quidditch robes, dressing in some more casual attire. She grabs a book she's reading from the library (she and Hermione went together within the second week of school) and runs back downstairs. She leaves the common room and walks down a series of hallways to an empty room. She walks in and sits down on a chair and props the book in front of her.

Draco is carrying his invisibility cloak with him and puts it on immediately after he leaves the Great Hall. He notices a flash of red out of the corner of his eye and turns to see Ginny running off down another hallway. He turns and follows after her, making sure to stay behind just enough that she wouldn't notice his presence. He watches her enter an empty room and he walks down to the doorway. He peeks inside and watches her sit down and open a book. She looks so peaceful. Draco has never seen her so calm before. Normally whenever they see each otehr one of them begins yelling. Draco begins to walk into the room. He stays close to the wall as to not run into anything.

He sits on the ground and watches as her eyes scan the page. He's never been able to truly pay so much attention to the redheaded beauty before. He admires the way her hair shines in the dim light and watches her as she flips through the pages of her book. Every time she turns a page she slides her hand down the side of the book and returns her arm back to her side. When it takes a her a long time to finish a page she will tap at the side of her chair. Eventually, he finds himself tapping along, but stops in fear that she will hear him.

After what turns out to be a few hours of watching the Weasley girl read, Draco stands up. Ginny has finally finished her book and closes it. She turns her head and looks straight at Draco. At first, Draco is startled and is scared that her almond eyes have found him even under the invisibility cloak. He freezes under her stare, but when she doesn't say anything he turns around and notices that she's looking out the window at rain that has started to fall.

He takes the moment to turn around and look into her eyes for a few more seconds, something that would never be possible if she knew he was there. Then Ginny stands and begins heading for the door. Draco follows and makes it to the door right after her. They begin walking down the hall, Ginny immediately in front of Draco, when she realizes that she's left her book and turns around right into him. Draco stumbles back.

"Wha- Who's there?" Ginny says, not yelling, but sounding quite alarmed. Draco doesn't answer and quickly walks around her and to the Slytherin dorms. Ginny is left alone, quite dumbfounded. When no one answers she begins to walk back to the Gryffindor dorms and gets inside to the common room to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting together doing homework.


	5. Cooperative Annoyance

Ginny walks into the Gryffindor common room after whipsering the password to the Fat Lady and ignored any comments that she tried to make and Ginny closes the portait hole.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, where have you been?" a familiar voice surprises Ginny and echoes loud in the empty room. Well, nearly empty. Other than Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and the owner of the mysterious voice Ronald Weasley himself!

Ginny quickly looked up at the trio and lifted her book, "Just reading, Ron. No need to get your knickers in a twist."

Ron's face flushes, "Do you know how late it is? You should have been in bed already! What would Mum say?"

Ginny begins walking to the stairwell leading to her dorm room. Harry and Hermione just watch the exchange between the two siblings, silently. Her back facing the trio Ginny begins to acsend up the stairs, "What would Mum say? I don't know, but it doesn't matter, Ron. I can handle myself."

"Gin, he's just trying to help," Hermione tries to console the ginger girl.

"Well, he doesn't need to. I'm fine. Obviously." Ginny folds her arms and looks at the trio one last time stepping on the last step, "Oh, brother dear, don't look so worried all the time. It's not doing any good in impressing Hermione." Ron's face turns the color of his hair and he scoots away from Hermione who is also starting to turn a bit red. Ginny laughs and opens the door to her dorm room, "Goodnight, Harry. Thank god you didn't get into this." She closes the door and it clicks behind her.

Ginny changes out of her school robes and lies on her bed, pulling the drapes around her and her sheets up to her chin. Her brief argument had done little to distract her from the events in the hall. Who did she run into? And if not who, what? Maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe it's just a ghost. It's probably Peeves trying to mess with me. Ginny sighs and snuggles into her bed, stuffing her face into her pillow. Thank god tomorrow is Saturday. Wait! Tommorow! Tommorow is a first trip of the year to Hogsmeade! Ginny quickly falls asleep, dreaming about mugs of butterbeer and candy shops.

Back in the common room Ron and Hermione have situated themselves at opposite ends of a couch, with Harry in the middle. "Come on, guys," Harry groans, "She's just messing with you."  
Hermione fights not to say something, but comes to her senses. "You're right, Harry. This isn't necessary." She stands up and walks towards the staircase, "'Night, boys." Hermione rushes up the stairs and runs into her room. She tiptoes to her bed and lies down, staring at the ceiling wondering if what Ginny send actually did mean anything. Ron wasn't too bad for a guy. Hermione had something to think about for the weekend.  
~

"Come on, Ron. We should sleep. Hogsmeade tomorrow!" Harry called from the stairway, not waiting for Ron as he walks up.  
"Alright..." Ron mumbles, still a little shaken up. Stupid kid sister, messing with his life. And he totally DID NOT like Hermione. Totally. Maybe. Sometimes.


End file.
